A Matter of Timing
by iEvenstarEstel
Summary: An additional story set in the "That One Time In The Cretaceous Era" verse. This time it's Abby's turn for some comfort.


A Matter Timing  
2010 Evenstar Estel

Abby wasn't sure why she was so nervous. It wasn't as if she needed her brother's approval for the choices she made with her life. Still, he was her only family, or more precisely the only family she cared about. But even Abby could admit that Jack was immature, selfish and irresponsible. So were most young men his age. She found him to be a very stark contrast to Connor who at only five years older was ready to become a father and take on all the incumbent responsibilities. As she had been doing for all the days and weeks she knew she was expecting, Abby placed her hand over her stomach and rubbed it affectionately. The gesture comforted her and reminded her that she had a lot to be happy and thankful for. It did not however calm her nerves. She and Connor were over the moon about becoming parents and Abby hoped her baby brother would be just as pleased for her.

Abby checked her watch again and sighed. Jack was twenty minutes late. The cafe was humming with people and the noise was beginning to give her a headache. She sipped her tea, which had grown cold and waited. Ten minutes later Jack came bounding in, in the middle of furiously texting someone on his phone.

"Hey Abby," said Jack as he sat down across from her, snagging her tea and helping himself. "Ugh! It's cold!" He closed his phone and dropped it one the table. "Right then! What's the emergency?"

"It's not an emergency, I just have some news," she replied. His cell phone buzzed and Jack went for it immediately. He read his text and responded. "Everything okay?"

"Oh yeah, s'fine. Just making plans for tonight. Did I tell you I got a new job?"

"No you didn't! Well done you. Where're you working?"

"There's an American company that does video games and they needed people to test them."

"You get paid to play video games all day?"

"Yeah, isn't it great? The pay's good. Raj and Tim got on too."

"What about uni? Don't you have classes in the day?" Jack seemed to get a little fidgety at her question and quickly changed the subject.

"So sis, what's your important news? Come on, let's have it! Did you finally leave that horrible job of yours?"

"Jack! I love my work. You have no idea how many people we've saved."

"Okay! Okay! Don't get your kickers in a twist."

Abby took a deep breath and steadied her herself. "Congratulations Jack, you're going to be an uncle!" Jack stared at her dumbfounded for a moment and a moment after that his mouth kicked in before his brain did.

"Bugger! I guess I owe mum 20!"

"Wha... what?" Abby suddenly felt her blood run cold as the colour drained from her face. Her hand went reflexively to cover her abdomen, suddenly feeling vulnerable and alone much like she had her whole childhood.

"Oh you remember! Mum swore you'd be up the duff long before you ever got married. Do you know who the father is or do I owe mum another twenty?" Jack was laughing at his own perceived cleverness.

"It's Con... Connor. Always Connor. Jack... I have to go." Abby rose from the table and tossed a couple of quid down to pay for her tea. She was shaky and disoriented but managed to get away. Jack was too busy texting again to pay any attention to his sister after absently calling _Bye! _ as she walked away. The flat was only about a mile away but to Abby it felt like day's journey to walk. By the time she reached home she was sobbing. She could barely unlock the latch to let herself inside. She walked past Sid and Nancy's excited greeting and ambled her way to the sofa, collapsing in anguish. Connor wouldn't be home for some time yet as the team were out responding to another anomaly and though she desperately wanted him she couldn't bring herself to pick up the phone.

***

The rain didn't start until after the anomaly had been taken care of. Hamleys Toy Shop was going to be closed for a while. Maybe a long while. Despite the fact that Compsognathus was only the size of a chicken, fifty of the little beasts could do a lot of damage, especially when the colourful stuffed animals looked like prey. Fortunately for the Connor he'd managed to avoid getting bitten, unlike some of his other team members. But he was exhausted from catching and releasing all day and night long. He wanted nothing more than to crawl in to bed and hold Abby.

"Abby, love!? I'm home!" he called. It was only half past 8pm, so he didn't think she'd be in bed already. The flat was dark, save from the light coming from the street. The rain was coming down in sheets and the sound echoed through the flat. The animals weren't making their sounds, nor had they come to greet him as usual. The quiet inside the flat had him worried. "ABBY!"

"I'm over here, Connor," came her quiet, plaintiff voice from by way of the sofa. He hadn't noticed her small figure sitting in the dark. He quickly made he was over and when he turned on the lamp he was met with a troubling sight. Sid and Nancy were laying next to her, their worried little faces fixated on the disheveled looking girl. It was then that Rex made himself known from his perch above. It took Connor a few seconds to take in the sight before him. Abby was huddled with her chin up to her knees and her eyes were swollen and red from crying. The tear stains that marred her beautiful features broke his heart. The feeling of sadness was suddenly overshadowed with fear and panic. He rushed to her and dropped to his knees.

"Abby, what's wrong?! Is the baby... is the baby g... gone?!" he cried, immediately jumping to the most crushing conclusion. His panic broke her out of her fog and she felt sick for worrying him so.

"Oh Connor, no, no. The baby's fine. Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." His head dropped against her legs and he let out a shuddering breath.

"Oh thank god! I think I just about had a heart attack!" His hand found her stomach and he gently caressed it. It wasn't until this moment that the idea that they weren't out of the woods yet had penetrated his psyche. Abby was still in her first trimester and he knew in the back of his mind that it wasn't a sure thing that she'd carry it to term.

"That baby's fine, Connor. I promise." He looked up at her then and cupped her cheek with his hand, wiping away her tears with the pad of his thumb.

"But you're not. Tell me what's wrong, sweetheart."

"Oh Connor, can you just hold me for a while?" He nodded his head and helped the ever vigilant Sid and Nancy down before taking up their place on the sofa. He pulled Abby on to his lap and wrapped his arms firmly around her. Abby hid her face against his neck and breathed him in.

"Sorry, I'm a bit sweaty. There was lots of running around today."

"I don't care. I love it. This is what I needed." She gripped his shirt and coat in her hands and burrowed against him.

"Please tell me what happened today. I can't bear to see you so upset."

"After I was done at the ARC I called Jack up to meet me for a chat. I wanted to tell him he was going to be an uncle." Connor started stroking her hair, an action that always soothed her. "He was flip about it and cracked a joke. He didn't mean anything by it, he's not conscientious enough to realize what he'd said, but it just cut so deep, Connor."

"What was it?" He kept his voice calm, but on the inside he pictured himself popping Abby's little brother right in the nose.

"He said _I guess I owe mum 20!_"

"I don't understand."

"Oh Connor. I will tell you, I'll tell you everything. But I wanted so badly to spare you this, to spare you my past. We know each other so well in so many ways, but we've never spoken about our childhoods have we?"

"No, we haven't. Abby you must know there's nothing that could ever change the way I feel about you. Nothing that happened in the past will make me love you any less."

"Thank you. I do know that. I count on that every day, that you'll always love me."

"I will. Tell me. You can trust me."

"Mum wasn't a very good mum. I don't really know much about my dad. I have a few memories of him, just flashes,when he and mum were together. She was really young when she had me, younger than I am now. They didn't really stand a chance. Neither one had any money and for the most part I was a complication that seemed to drain the life right out of their relationship. They still wanted to be kids and they couldn't with a child to take care of. That's how my Gran explained it to me, later on. Dad stuck around for as long as he could and then he left. I didn't see him again, don't know what happened to him. So, it was me n' mum for a little while. She started leaving me with her mum and going out, partying, acting like I didn't exist. She fell pregnant again almost right away, with Jack. Jack's dad was pretty decent actually, even if he didn't have much use for me. But he and mum weren't together, it was just a one night stand. She adored Jack. She preferred him over me. I think she saw me as the start of all her problems and Jack as the solution, because Jack's dad gave her lots of money. Anyway, I kept my head down, kept to myself. When I was older I made sure to help out, especially with Jack. He and I always got along, we had to fend for ourselves a lot of the time. Mum went back to her old ways after a while. But it was different. She got harder, angrier. She did lots of drugs and was always drinking. She'd always had boyfriends, one after the other. She'd bring strangers back for the night. Some stuck around for a while, but most of them left after they got what they wanted. Some of them... " Her voice trailed off and she shivered. Without thinking, Connor pulled the blanket from off the back of the sofa and wrapped it around Abby. For a few moments she breathed deeply in and out while Connor waited patiently for her to continue her story.

"Most of the men that came 'round were gormless idiots, just after sex. Mum was beautiful, I'll give her that. But some of them... some of them looked at me differently. But I was clever you see, I could sense there was something wrong. Maybe I didn't know exactly what they had on their minds, but I knew that I shouldn't fall asleep those nights. When they were busy in mum's room I'd take Jack out the window from my bedroom and we'd find a place to hide. He used to think it was a game. We never went too far, to the park, or to the storage room below the flats. We usually fell asleep. When morning came mum would come to look for us and we'd come out of our hiding spot. Oh the thrashings I used to get after those nights! Still, I knew it was better than whatever those men had in store for me. It didn't happen too much, but enough. It was harder in the winter. Sometimes I'd leave Jack, put him under his bed or something. I hated being cold like that, shivering in the dark all night. It worked just fine for years. That was until I was fifteen and mom met Vic. God, he was a slimeball. And he was mean. Jack hated him too and started spending more time at his dad's. I'd take off to a friend's for the night when he came round. One night I was sick with the flu and just couldn't muster of the strength to get out of bed even. I blocked my door with a chair and thought it would be enough. But it wasn't. It was just a chair, I was so stupid. He waited until mum had passed out... " She stopped again and steadied her breathing.

Connor swallowed and tried to ignore the hard lump that had formed in his throat. He didn't want to know where the path she was leading him down went to. He didn't want her to say the words. He didn't want to know about anything bad that had happened to her. He didn't want her to relive it now. He wanted to erase her memories and her pain and protect her.

"I was asleep when he started pawing at me. I woke up with my fists clenched already fighting him off, like I'd somehow been expecting it. Be he was more than twice my size and I was pretty weak from being sick. I bit and scratched at him but it was useless. It wasn't until I threw up on him that he gave up. After that I guess he decided I wasn't worth the trouble. I ran out past him and to the neighbour's. When the police found him there was enough evidence to arrest him."

"Abby, were you... did he..." It was Connor's turn to shiver now and Abby snuggled closer.

"Rape me? No, he didn't get that far. He would've done. I have no doubt in my mind." Connor relaxed a little. At least she'd been spared that horror.

"Mum hated me after that, said... well, all sorts of unfair things. Like Vic was some great prize! I was changed after that. Something broke inside. Mum obviously didn't care about me. Vic thought I was disposable. Gran tried to get through to me, but I was already gone. I didn't treat myself very well after I found out Vic got cleared of the charges. Mum stood up for him, convinced the police that the marks on him were from her and that I was lying because I was jealous. Vic was gone in less than a month. I started having boyfriends, too many boyfriends. It just hurt so much... I turned myself into her and she mocked me for it. So that's where that came from, the _I guess I owe mum 20!_ She bet I'd be pregnant and never get married and end up just like her."

"You're nothing like her Abby!"

"Shhhh, it's okay. I know I'm not. Gran helped me see that. She got through to me and let me come live with her. She saved me. She'd raised mum on her own and couldn't keep control of her, but it was different with me. We got on great. I focused on school, got into university. She died a few weeks after I finished my first year. I've been on my own since. Jack went to live with his dad when he was a teenager. He kept in touch with mum, they always had a decent relationship. He seemed oblivious to how things were between her and me. She's... the same, I suppose. I don't really want to know. Jack still sees her, and he'll probably tell her about the baby." Abby sighed and leaned back in Connor's arms until he was cradling her. "Thank you, for listening. Gosh, I'm exhausted. I have a terrible headache."

"And you probably haven't eat much either, have you?" She shook her head. "Why don't you go relax in the tub for a while and I'll fix us something to eat?"

"No, Connor. You've had a long day."

"Nah, it was just Compsognathus in Hambleys! Hardly a bother at all. That reminds me..." He stood up with her in his arms and placed her back on the sofa. He darted back towards the entrance to retrieve a small bundle. He returned and placed a Hambleys bag in her lap. "Go on! I figured the store owed me a little after everything we did." Abby reached inside and felt something soft. She pulled it out to reveal an adorable plush T-Rex with big blue eyes and goofy teeth. It was silly and adorable and so perfectly Connor. "I spied him and knew it would be perfect for the nursery!"

"Oh Connor, it's wonderful. Thank you!" She kissed him soundly on the lips before he hurried her off to her bath. He made a quick meal of cheese sandwiches and a salad, which was the extent of his culinary skills. They ate quietly at the table across from each other as Connor regaled her with the tales of fending off tens of miniature dinosaurs. He made her laugh when he told of how Becker'd had his arse bitten and ended up falling into a display of little girls' accessories and came up covered in pink glitter and pretty beads. Afterwards Connor hopped into the shower for a quick wash and finally joined Abby in bed like he'd wished for so many hours ago.

"Feelin' better?" Connor asked as Abby snuggled down and lay her cheek on his bare chest. She was dressed from head to toe in fuzzy pajamas, feeling cozy and warm and perfectly content.

"Much better. Headache's gone. You always make everything better. Thank you for listening to me, it helped more than I realized."

"You're welcome, Abby. And thank you for telling me, for trusting me. But, um... can I say something?"

"Of course."

"First, your brother's an absolute pillock. Secondly, he's got lousy timing. And thirdly, he's ruined my Saturday."

"Connor, it's Thursday."

"Yeah, I know, love. But I had great plans for Saturday! I was going to start off by bringing you breakfast in bed. Then after you were all satiated and full of pancakes I was going disappear under the covers and lay between those luscious thighs of yours and make love to you with my mouth until you were begging for release. Afterwards we were going for a walk in the park, maybe a picnic if it was warm enough. Then in the evening I was going to romance you with a fancy dinner at a posh restaurant. Then we were going to come back here and slow dance in the living room, then hopefully that would lead to the bedroom, etc. etc."

"Connor, we can still do those things - especially that second one! How precisely has Jack ruined Saturday?"

"Because, my sweet, I was going to end the day by giving you this... " Connor reached under his pillow and deposited a small blue velvet box on his stomach, right in Abby's line of sight. She gasped and her hand reached out to hover near the box.

"Go on, open it." She sat up and opened the box as Connor held it up for her. Inside was a beautiful square cut solitary diamond bezel set in platinum. Abby didn't know much about diamonds, but she knew it must have cost him a fortune.

"Oh Connor... " Tears instantly began to brim in her eyes.

"Abby, will you be my wife?"

"You want to marry me?"

"I've been daydreaming what it would be like to be married to you since we met in the Forest of Dean. Please? Or if you really don't want... "

"Don't be silly! Of course I'll be your wife! Connor, I love you!" She threw her arms around him and peppered kisses all over his face whilst laughing and crying at the same time. Somewhere in the mix Connor managed to put the ring on her finger. A few minutes later he was making love to her and all the woes and unhappy tears of the day disappeared and were replaced with the promise of a love everlasting and the freedom from the unfortunate circumstances of their pasts. Connor vowed to himself that one day soon he'd tell Abby his own story, but until then he'd take solace in her arms and the love she so trustingly gave to him and he'd give it all back to her one hundred fold.

***

Abby was busy showing Sarah her engagement ring and Connor heard the girly squeals of excitement from his vantage point making upgrades to the anomaly locking system. He looked at them out of the corner of his eye and smiled. After the horrid day she'd had yesterday he was relieved and comforted to see Abby so happy. Some of the other women that worked at the ARC had joined them and were gushing over how beautiful the ring was.

"You've made us all look very bad you know?" said Danny as he leaned against Connor's desk.

"People get engaged every day Danny," replied Connor, not looking up from his work.

"True. But not here and not with rocks that big and the way Abby's been spinning it you're coming off looking like a storybook hero. She's been telling them lot about every time you put yourself between her and a predator."

"Has she also told them about the time I accidentally shot her in the leg with a tranquilizer? And then left her unconscious in a bowling alley while raptors were running around freely?"

"You didn't!"

"I've also never paid her back the fiver I borrowed that night to buy a slushy. The anomaly was in a shopping centre."

"Still, every woman in this place thinks you're a prince!"

A flash of colour caught Danny and Connor's attention as one of Becker's soldiers transported an impossibly large bouquet of flowers in a vase to Abby's work station. Connor smiled secretly to himself and Danny caught it.

"Too much more of this and _I'll_ want to marry you," said Danny. Abby bounded over to Connor to show him the card that had come with the flowers. It was printed instead of handwritten, but Abby seemed pleased and oblivious.

"_Abby, Sorry I'm such an arse. Congratulations to you and Connor. Love, Jack._ Ah, love, I glad for you," said Connor, giving her hand a kiss when he handed her back the note.

"I'm going to take the flowers up to the climate controlled lab, they'll last twice as long," said Abby, a bright smile painted on her face. The two men watched her leave, equally as happy smiles on their faces. When they caught a glance at each other they immediately cleared their throats, embarrassed at being seen as anything other than very manly.

"Abby's little brother didn't send those flowers," said Danny as a matter of fact.

"Of course he did," replied Connor seriously.

"She'll work it out soon enough you know. For one thing, how would Jack know to send flowers to the ARC?"

"Doesn't matter, she's happy for today."

"I've decided, I want you for myself. You _are _bloody Prince Charming."

"You'll never win me Quinn, besides Abby would kick your ass first. But would you settle for being me best man at the wedding?"

The End


End file.
